Was that some deleted spam?
Here are some more English ones
My oldest English coin, a groat from 1354 - 1356 with Edward III on it. This is pre treaty period
Another groat Henry VI Annulet type (1422 -1429) Annulet type (The rings in the inner most quadrants on the Rev
Henry VIII 2nd coinage groat (1526 - 1544) and this coin has been clipped like the one above. Groats (4d) were the largest silver coins until the testoon (1/-) in 1502, although frequent issues of testoons only started in the 1540s and the big silver coins like Crowns etc introduced in 1551. Between 1351 and 1540, they reduced in size from 72 grains (4.3 grams) to 44 grains (2.9 grams)
Another area I have a lot of coins is Elizabeth I era (1558 - 1603) - her reign saw plentiful coinage and a return to prosperity and stability after a religious and financial crisis of the previous 15 years. At one stage there was 10 denominations being minted in silver (¼d, ½d, ¾d, 1d, 1½d, 2d, 3d, 4d, 6d, 1/-, crowns and halfcrowns remained silver until 1600 when some of these denominations were removed). The joy of these coins was that the ¾d, 1½d, 3d and 6d were all dated in Arabic numerals), although other coins can be dated within 2 or 3 years at most with mintmarks.
Most easy to find are sixpences and shillings, although I find its hard to get good portraits on these coins, but shields usually come out well. Here are some of these beauties. I don't have any but ¾d coins were issued, because stall holders were sick of people spending one farthing and paying with pennies! Pennies had roses on them to distinguish them from the slightly smaller coin, same with 2d being confused with 3d and 4d with 6d. The 2d and 4d were layovers from the medieval full and half groats. Coins smaller than a 3d must have been very fiddly indeed, but the 6d was a decent size coin, being hammered and flat, they were the size of a modern quarter or 50p coin now.
Also bear in mind, these coins did not have the denomination indicated on them, occasionally you may see a roman numeral on 17th century hammered pieces and gold coins, but not small silvers of this era.
1564 Threepence, this would be a perfect coin, if it was not for the hole, but it remains my oldest English coin witha numeral date. The portrait is surprisingly decent for this type too, we have eyes nose, crown and a full ruff! It came in a bulk lot with 2 worn sixpences and shillings for just $200.
1572 sixpence - this is a decent coin overall, nice date - decent strike, however a clip on it and flattening. Workmanship was not always the best and the coins wore quickly. Still I have a real soft spot for this one.
Yes its holed this 450 year old sixpence, but this is at least readable, you can make out its 1574. The piercing suggests this old coin is almost medal orientation too.
More coins to come
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
